A Superb French Bacchi Fusilier-Marins Cap.

As the crews of the ships lacked personnel trained for fighting on land, the imperial decree of 5 June 1856 created the specialisation of marin fusilier. The Fusiliers-Marins was initially composed of sailors and naval officers who were sent for special infantry training in Lorient in order to form the marine detachments aboard ships and conduct small scale landings. This was not the first time that the French had tried this approach. Before the First Republic, the Corps royal de l'infanterie de la marine had been superseded by the Corps royal de canonniers-matelots on 1 January 1786.

These troops were notably engaged during the war of 1870 and the defence of Paris. Two battalions of Fusiliers-Marins, under the respective commands of capitaines de frégate Laguerre and de Beaumont, took part in the Tonkin campaign as part of the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps, distinguishing themselves at Son Tay and Bac Ninh. In 1900 they participated in the fighting during the Boxer Rebellion and it was on the same year that the fusiliers were finally confirmed as part of the naval service as their counterparts in the troupes de marine (troupes coloniales) moved on to the Army via the War Ministry.
In World War I, their famous defense in 1914 of Diksmude in the Battle of the Yser stands out. They also served at the Dardanelles and in Macedonia.

The fusiliers-marins were busy studying amphibious warfare, testing experimental landing craft and taking part in exercices combinés from the late 1920s until the mid-1930s.

In World War II, their most famous battles were Bir Hakeim and Normandy. World War II Fusiliers-Marins units included the 1er Regiment de Fusiliers-Marins de Reconnaissance which served in the 1st Free French Division (1er DFL), the Régiment Blindé de Fusiliers Marins (RBFM) of the 2nd Armoured Division and the 1er Bataillon de Fusiliers Marins Commandos (1er BFMC) who served in 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando. Today's Commandos Marine are drawn exclusively from the ranks of the Fusiliers-Marins after passing rigorous selection.

In Indochina after World War II, the French Navy and Fusiliers-Marins created the famous riverine warfare units called divisions navales d'assaut (naval assault divisions), commonly referred to as dinassauts. The Demi-Brigade de Fusiliers-Marins (DBFM) which included the Bataillon d'Intervention de Fusiliers-Marins (BIFM) served in Algeria.

Code: 24625